Yogurt Cake with Chocolate Ganache Frosting

Serves 12

by Tony Rosenfeld
from Big Buy Cooking
Last Edit Date: 11/5/2010 2:55:26 PM

Here's what every simple container of yogurt aspires to be. Who knew it was so glamorous? Yogurt adds moisture to this dense cake’s crumb and a light tartness that breaks up the richness of the heavenly chocolate ganache frosting.

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For the cake

4 oz. (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened, more for the pan
9 oz. (2 cups) unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. table salt
1 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1-1/2 cups plain yogurt (low-fat or full-fat)
2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

For the ganache frosting

3/4 cup heavy cream
8 oz. semisweet chocolate, broken into small pieces
1 Tbs. light corn syrup

Make the cake

Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 350°F. Butter a 9-inch cake pan. Line the pan with a piece of parchment paper cut to size.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or in a large bowl with an electric hand mixer, cream the sugar and butter on medium speed until smooth and fluffy. Reduce the speed to low, add the eggs, and then add the yogurt and vanilla, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add the dry ingredients and mix until just incorporated.

Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Let cool completely on a rack before turning the cake out of the pan.

Make the frosting and frost the cake

Bring the cream to a simmer in a small saucepan over medium heat. Reduce the heat to low, add the chocolate and corn syrup, and whisk until the chocolate is completely melted. Remove from the heat and let cool for 15 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl and refrigerate uncovered, stirring every 30 minutes or so, until it firms to a spreadable texture, about 45 minutes. Transfer the cake to a cake plate. Spread the ganache evenly over the top and sides of the cake with an offset spatula.

Make Ahead Tips

The frosted cake can be refrigerated for up to five days in an airtight cake container (return to room temperature before serving).

Photo: Maren Caruso

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by morguene, 5/28/2012My rating is based on my variation on this recipe, as I haven't actually tried it as above. But what I did turned out fantastic. I substituted the plain yoghurt for raspberry yoghurt - I had some in the fridge I wanted to use up, added 3/4 cup mini chocolate chips, omitted the frosting altogether and made as cupcakes (with baking time adjusted to 30 mins). Made 18 delicious little snack cakes - perfect for lunches. They were adequately sweet as is with no need for frosting. The raspberry yoghurt added an underlying fruitiness that was nice, and the mini chips gave a nice little bit of chocolate.

by brioso, 11/30/2010A nice twist on vanilla cake. It was, as stated, quite dense & moist, which I love. I'm not sure what this recipe means by 9 inch round cake pan - perhaps I'm misunderstanding, but my 9 inch round cake pan was far, far to small. Next time I'll divide the batter into two pans and stack the cakes, perhaps with frosting in between. I can't comment on the frosting really, since I'm quite sure I messed it up - it ended up rather fudge like, which was fine but not great. I also felt that the frosting recipe produced far more frosting than I would have liked - but I am easily overwhelmed by rich things. I froze the leftovers. Post-freezing this cake really declines, so I don't recommend it. Other warning - the cake does not quite look like the photo. Egg yolks turn it yellowy. So if you're looking for a pristine & white cake, beware.

by jennieb915, 11/18/2010I loved this cake. It had a very tender crumb if baked and served without refridgerating, and a more chewy texture after is was refridgerated. I've been looking for a vanilla cake that can be refridgerated without becoming dry or tough and this cake is it.

by chefjeff, 11/17/2010This recipe was one of the very rare times that a Fine Cooking recipe disappointed. Who could argue about the frosting? It was lush and wonderful. The cake came out picture perfect in appearance, and I would be lying if I said that it was not moist. That being said, the texture was a little bizarre for me....not cake like at all. It had a "chew" as opposed to an open crumb, and I'm guessing that it was because of the extra liquid from the 1 1/2 cups yogurt, and the third egg to tighten up the batter in baking. No worries, as I have a slew of Fine Cooking recipes to try. Cheers, Jeff